Water-energy link

There’s a strong link between the water that we use and the energy (that is, the gas, electricity and oil) that we use in our homes. When we save one then we’re saving the other, too. Pumping, treating, delivering, taking away and again treating water takes a lot of energy. In 2010/2011, the water industry used 9,016 GWh of energy for operational and administrative activities (about the same as the year before). About 1% of UK greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to the water industry. The good news is that water companies are beginning to increase their use of renewable energy, from less than 700 GWh in 2009/10 to 877 GWh in 2010/11.

In addition to the energy and greenhouse gas emissions associated with water supply, there is additional impact from water use. Heating water in our homes, for activities such as showering and cooking (but not including water used for space heating), accounts for another 5.5% of UK greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, when we save water we’re also saving gas and/or electricity in our homes, and helping save energy in the wider water supply system, too. All of this helps reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that we are emitting in the UK. It also means that saving hot water can reduce household gas/electricity bills. In the UK, approximately 30% of an average household gas/electricity bill is attributable to the heating of water – that’s about £200 year.

The research that we do within this area is focused on the following:

• Messaging – what is the best way to communicate that saving water saves energy? It’s a complicated link that most people don’t understand, and it is not an easy link to explain. We recently ran a pilot project with Energy Saving Trust to explore to bring the link to the forefront.

• Joined up delivery – there is a lot of energy efficiency activity underway across the country, and it makes perfect sense to do water efficiency alongside it all, but what are the barriers to integration, and how best can that aim be achieved? A recent project that we did for Defra looked at ways in which water could be integrated into the work of communities doing energy efficiency; one of the main conclusions was that communities do not know where to go for support (expertise and grants) on water.

  ---

Read our Hot Water webpage for more information on how to save water to save energy.